Gold
by annaliesegrace
Summary: A series of moments between Jane and Lisbon in Season 7.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Gold

Author: annaliesegrace

Rating: T

Summary: Set in season 7, just a moment between Jane and Lisbon.

AN: Born from a thought I had and shared on Tumblr (Tumblr name same as author name here), which then produced the most number of notes of any of my posts. So I figured I would…expand. Its short but hopefully you enjoy. Its my first foray into The Mentalist fic, so be kind and review. Thanks!

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The sun had just started to rise, the golden light filtering through the blinds and gauzy curtains in the bedroom - revealing a soundly sleeping Teresa Lisbon curled onto her side. For a moment Jane just took her in from the doorway – he loved these moments, when he was able to observe her unseen. Thankfully, his insomnia ensured they happened often enough, primarily while she was sleeping.

It still amazed him that she was with _him. _Even six months after Miami, she hadn't tired of him and his insecurities and craziness; Saint Teresa was an apt nickname in his opinion.

It was all too tempting and despite the fact she had threatened him many times about waking her early on off days, Jane shed the cotton pants and t-shirt he wore around the house and slipped between the cool sheets behind her. Placing one hand gently on her shoulder he swept away the hair he found, lightly kissing the newly exposed soft, warm skin. Below him she started to squirm and sigh, caught between not wanting to wake up but at the same time unable to ignore his lips as they worked toward her neck.

"Jane," she warned into the pillow as one of his hands landed on her hip, fingers teasing the skin they found. "The sun is barely up. I think we've discussed this."

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked and sucked gently on the skin at her pulse point.

"No," she whispered and rolled onto her back, capturing his lips again, the heat between them rising quickly as it always did. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer.

As his hand slipped between them her cell phone rang and Jane rested his head in the crook of her neck with a groan.

She shifted and grabbed the device off the night table, answering with a crisp, "Lisbon".

Unhappily, Jane moved away from her, watching as she held the phone with one hand while ensuring the sheet covered her breasts with the other. The temptation to just lean over and pull the sheet down was nearly overwhelming, but Jane restrained himself, he knew Lisbon was extremely serious about the separation between work and home. And if she was on the phone with work that meant no "shenanigans" as she'd kindly put it. Part of the "new Jane" was respecting her boundaries; though some moments were harder than others – like now.

"Yeah, got it. Yep, I'll bring Jane. See you in an hour." Then she hung up the phone and put it back, giving him a regretful look. "Sorry – I know we were supposed to be off."

He shrugged but kept the somewhat wounded look on his face. "Work calls."

A smile graced her face and she leaned toward him, kissing him deeply, a promise for later.

His left hand cupped her cheek as he returned the kiss. When she pulled away, her eyes darted to his hand.

"It's still weird," she said quietly, eyes locked on his now-bare ring finger.

Jane glanced at his hand as well as it dropped from her face and muttered, "Yeah." It had been weird for the first few months but now he was used to not feeling the weight. He kept the gold band in a small box put away in his Airstream, accessible but no longer a constant reminder of what he had lost.

It had come off the night they slept together for the first time – four long weeks after their return from Miami. As much as they both wanted to explore the physical aspect of their new relationship, Jane had steadfastly insisted on doing it the right way – he didn't want to skip steps with her. To him this was too important, _she_ was too important.

So shortly after their return he had taken her out to dinner at an upscale steak place that she had raved about afterword (and paid for the next morning when the martinis she'd had caught up to her). Then there had been the opera (she nearly fell asleep); an LA Kings Stanley Cup game (he nearly fell asleep) and the long weekend to a spa in Palm Springs (separate rooms). It had been strange to Lisbon to go on what were essentially dates with a man she had known as well as you could know a person like Jane for nearly thirteen years.

Four weeks to the day after he had gotten on that plane and declared his love for her, he'd picked her up for a casual dinner and when he had taken her hand the ring was gone.

She didn't mention it; he didn't explain. There really wasn't any reason to; they both knew what it meant. And that night he had proven to her just how much _she_ meant to him.

Now she smiled. "I love you."

Even after nearly half a year the words from her lips still sent a thrill through his body.

"I love you," he replied in kind, leaning in for a quick kiss before she darted off to the shower, her naked back exposed to him. It was quite a sight and he nearly got off the bed to follow her.

"No funny ideas, Jane!" she called out.

A smile cracked his face, she knew him so well.

Again he looked down at his left hand, maybe one day a new ring would grace it.

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END


	2. The Knockout

You guys are so awesome, I got such a lovely response to Gold that I decided to write the dates that I vaguely mentioned in what is now the first chapter (steakhouse, opera, hockey game, spa, casual). I'm going to aim for one chapter per week but that might slip a bit based on real life.

Thank you to all the reviews and favorites, they are so, so appreciated!

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Chapter 2: The Knockout

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For fifteen minutes he'd been sitting in his car, staring at her front door, fingers gripping the steering wheel. It was their first official date.

After kissing her in the TSA office there had been paperwork to deal with, then an annoyed Abbott who needed reassurance that something like this would _never_ happen again. Jane had been appropriately contrite and assured their boss that he had no further plans for subverting TSA or forcing his way onto an airplane. Why would he need to? The reason he did it was sitting across that table, trying very hard to hide a grin.

Then there had been the call she'd been forced to make to Pike while waiting for their flight to Austin – it wasn't ideal but the man was waiting for her to land about the same time she was making the call from another state. Jane had watched the thirty minute conversation from afar, occasionally able to read her lips when she turned in his direction. It wasn't going well based on her body language. When she'd returned and sat next to him in the boarding area wiping tears away, he'd had to resist touching her. Before he could even ask if she was ok, they were called to board. The flight had been equally quiet; neither willing to open any can of worms in the public space especially with their boss in the row in front of them. Though he had held her hand tightly from takeoff to landing.

The next few days had disappeared in a blur, because transfers had been put on hold, it was extra paperwork to cancel hers (plus the conversation with what was supposed to be her new boss in DC had been awkward but he'd understood in the end). The only bright spot was her house hadn't found new renters, so she'd contacted the owners and easily re-upped her lease for another three years – which was convenient since most of her stuff was still there, waiting for movers to come two days later.

While her status with the Austin office was…murky, Abbott had still insisted she report for work the day after they returned. Upon landing Lisbon had accepted his offer of a drive home, but declined when he'd asked if she wanted him to come in. And the next morning at the office had asked him to not come over for a few days, she needed time to sort things through and decompress away from him and work. He'd respected the space she needed, an awful lot had happened in a mere 48 hours, and she'd reassured him she was there to stay for the foreseeable future (not that he doubted that).

But on the sixth day after their return, he had all but cornered her in the breakroom at the FBI and officially asked her out on a date that Saturday. She had looked surprised but agreed.

Which is what brought him to this - sitting in her driveway, thinking of the dozen ways this could go wrong. And the so many ways it could go very, very right.

Taking a deep breath he got out of the car and approached the door, pausing a moment to adjust his suit before knocking.

When she opened the door, Jane sucked in a deep breath before letting out a soft "wow". She looked gorgeous in a black dress that hugged the curves of her small frame and flared out slightly at her hips, stopping just above the knee; strappy high-heeled sandals adorned her feet.

"You look…breath taking," he added, his eyes drawn to her green ones that were accented with a little more eye makeup than she usually wore.

"Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself," she said and stepped out, locking the door behind her.

Gently he took her arm and guided her toward the Citroen. But as they got to the driveway she stopped and pulled out the keys to her small SUV. Before he could protest, she handed them to him and grinned at the surprised look on his face.

"There is no chance of getting out of that car of yours in this dress and not exposing things I'd like to keep private," she explained impassively.

He still looked shocked. "But you're letting me drive."

"I am. Let's go, I'm starving."

After a moment's hesitation, he stepped forward and opened the car door, she slipped by and sat delicately in the seat, and as she slipped the dress under her, Jane was granted a glimpse of legs that was tantalizing. Closing the door, Jane grinned as thoughts of touching that skin danced through his head.

The brief drive to Sullivan's Steakhouse was made in companionable silence, though there was an undefinable tension in the air between them. One he didn't choose to examine too much.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Jane used the valet parking and offered his arm to her once he'd walked to her side, pleased when she wrapped her hand around it, gripping his forearm as they walked in.

Their table was in the back of the restaurant, the booth had high backs and opulent leather seats and was lit by a single lamp. As they slipped into their seats Lisbon grinned at him. "Called ahead did you?"

"Yep" he said with a dimpled smile.

Before she could say anything else their server arrived. "Hello, I'm Dan. Can I get you something to drink?"

"I'll have a scotch," Jane started, then continued without looking at her, "And the lady-"

"Will order her own." Lisbon cut him off with a smile and quickly looked at the drink list. Then she turned toward Dan. "I'll have The Knockout Martini."

Without another word he handed them their menus and left.

"Martini, huh?"

She didn't even look up from reading the menu. "Yup."

"Ok, then." The choice had surprised him; Lisbon was generally a beer or wine kind of girl. "I guess you can surprise me."

All he got was an impish grin in return.

When Dan returned with their drinks, they both ordered steaks with salad and the waiter slipped away again. Silence descended as she took a sip of her martini.

"Good?" he asked and nodded at her glass.

"Yep," she replied and took a longer drink, licking her lips when she was done, her eyes never leaving his. The air between them was heavy, thick with desire.

"So…" he started, unsure what they could talk about. Was there anything they didn't know about each other that would be suitable dinner conversation?

"So…" she replied.

And they both broke out into wide smiles, laughing lightly.

Then his expression became more somber. "How are you?"

Confused she replied, "Fine. You?"

"You know what I mean, Teresa. After everything with Marcus…" he took another long drink. "How did...how did he take it? I haven't had a chance to ask."

The martini glass turned in her hands, the liquid swirling in it. "I'm…ok. It's been a confusing week."

His hand reached out and stilled hers, fingers lingering on her wrist. "Tell me about it."

There was silence as she considered her next words carefully, not wanting to upset Jane. "He didn't take it well, not that I can blame him. I mean…I was four hours away from moving to DC, to be with him. To _marry_ him. And…I didn't." She finished off the martini and indicated for the waiter to bring her another when he approached. "I didn't have to tell him why, he knew it was because of you."

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

She shook her head and continued staring at the now empty glass. "I didn't mean to hurt him, that wasn't my intent, but I don't think he saw it that way. Marcus had a hard time understanding how we could be…friends, partners for so long and not realize how much we really meant to each other."

"Well, we were busy," he said with a shrug, though the other man had a point. Thirteen years seems like a long time to not acknowledge feelings about someone. But the first ten he had been solely focused on Red John, and painfully aware that acknowledging her meaning in his life in any way would paint a target on her. And at the time that had not been an acceptable outcome, Jane couldn't bare it if something happened to her – even though in the end it didn't matter because Red John had gotten hold of her anyway (which was the moment he really did acknowledge how deep his feelings for her went). And then after McAllister's death he'd disappeared, secure that she was alive and would be for the foreseeable future, if not necessarily as happy as she could be. He had stayed in contact with her as best he could anyway with at least one letter a week, sometimes 2 or 3 if he was feeling especially lonely. When they'd finally reunited Jane had been sure he had all the time in the world with her and had settled back into the close relationship they had shared long ago. And then Pike had shown up and forced Jane's hand.

"That's an interesting way to put it, though accurate," she said as her second drink was placed on the table and the empty glass removed. "It was my choice, Jane. I didn't have to get off that flight. But I did. And it was the _right_ choice."

That beautiful dimpled smile graced his face. "You know it was."

"Full of yourself, much?"

Before he could respond with another smart comment, their food arrived; the smell had her stomach nearly grumbling.

"Fantastic," Jane said and they both dug into their meals.

After that it felt like the air had cleared between them, that the past was now firmly in the past and they were moving forward. With each other.

After her fourth martini, Lisbon was starting to feel a little buzzed and with it…bold. So as they finished dessert, she slipped her shoe off and ran the top of her foot along the outside of his shin. Instantly his head snapped up, surprise on his face.

"Lisbon…" he said slowly.

"Yes, Jane…" she replied equally slowly, but with a seductive edge to it. Then she rotated her foot to the inside of his shin, and slipped it up farther, closer to his knee - all the while licking the last bite of cheesecake off her lips.

Jesus, she was trying to kill him.

"Let's go for a walk," he said. They were two blocks from the Colorado River and a small park that had walking trails.

She nodded, which made the buzzing in her head momentarily worse, and went to the restroom while he settled the bill.

In short order they were walking side by side, her arm wrapped around one of his. The night was warm, his companion even warmer by his side.

"I know what you're doing," she said as they crossed the street and strolled slowly into the park.

"And what's that?" he asked.

"You're trying to sober me up. I'm not drunk Jane."

"How many drinks did you have?" The question was serious but softened by the amused smile he gave her. "Poor form to get drunk in front of a date, Lisbon."

"I'm not…" she started to protest. "Ok, maybe I'm a little buzzed. But not drunk." Then she shrugged. "It's you, Jane. I trust you."

"Sometimes I wonder why."

That had her stopping short and turning to face him. "Because I know deep down you wouldn't do something to intentionally hurt me. To…to hurt me for the sake of doing it. Your deceit came from a place of pain that I can't even imagine, from the need to get vengeance. And I know at least some of the time you were doing it in a misguided attempt to protect me."

His hand came up and cupped her cheek gently. "I never _wanted_ to hurt you Lisbon. I thought…I thought I was doing what was best."

Nuzzling into his hand, Lisbon closed her eyes. The alcohol was still moving through her system, the buzz still present, but now she wasn't sure if that was from the liquor or his nearness.

"I know," she whispered into his palm.

When his hand pulled away she practically pouted, but instead he grabbed one of her hands and started walking again. "Do you hear that?"

She strained to hear what he did. "No."

He tilted his head, confirming what he heard. "It's music."

After a few minutes walking they came across a small pavilion where there was a band set up, it was music in the park night, apparently. At the moment there were only a dozen people milling about, some dancing, others just enjoying the music. Perfect.

Smoothly he pulled her into his arms and started to sway to the music, her head naturally dropping to his shoulder. One of his hands worked up to land between her shoulder blades, the other remained tight around her waist. Her arms wrapped around his neck.

For two songs they stayed that way, wrapped in each other, moving slowly to the music, lost in their own world. She felt wonderful pressed against him, warm and soft and touchable.

At the end of the second song she picked her head up and reached up, kissing him gently. But it didn't take long for one kiss to become two, then three, then several breathless kisses strung together. Thankfully they were at the back of the crowd and no one seemed to be paying them much attention.

But still, Jane pulled away reluctantly before it could get too heated. She let out a moan of displeasure but stepped back from him just a bit.

They stayed another thirty minutes, enjoying the atmosphere and just being with each other before Jane tugged on her hand. "Let's get you home."

"I don't turn into a pumpkin at midnight, Jane."

"That may be but I have a feeling you're going to regret that last martini in a few hours."

She made a face at him but followed nonetheless.

At exactly midnight, he pulled into her driveway and walked her to the door.

"Good night, Teresa," he said and leaned in, kissing her gently. Again, it didn't take long for the kisses to become heated, wanting.

"Come in," she said when they parted.

"Not tonight."

"Not…tonight?" Her tone was incredulous.

"Nope," he replied and placed a quick kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, Teresa."

"Night, Jane," she mumbled, somewhat disappointed but gave him a small smile nonetheless before disappearing into the house.

Jane got into his car and had to grip the steering wheel again. But this time to get control of the desire to walk back the way he came and take her up on the offer. He couldn't…not yet. Lisbon deserved far more than one date before falling into bed with him. After all the years they had been together, he owed her more than that.

As he pulled down her driveway, the small gold band on his left and caught his attention.

So much more.

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END

Please…leave a review so I know you guys like where this is going.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Wow, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the reviews for last chapter. They were wonderful and I love reading each one. Couple little notes here:

Its one thing to write a one shot and not think too hard about it, it's another thing to start writing a more…robust fic and realize the timeline you set in the original one-shot is a little…unrealistic. So in an effort to be able to fit all the "dates" in (including two out of state!), I stretched the timeline a bit and updated the first chapter. Its now 8 months since she got off the plane, and they sleep together/the ring disappears 7 weeks after.

Also, I apologize for taking so long, this chapter vexed me. I had all kinds of trouble with it, but I hope it came out all right in the end. These are seriously the fluffiest fluff I think I have ever written, so next chapter I think will add a little drama, if that's ok with everyone.

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Chapter 3: Carmen

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Patrick Jane did nothing by half measures, she knew that…really. And yet, it was still a surprise when he arrived to pick her up in a chauffeured car.

After some reluctance on her part, he had convinced her to accompany him to the opera. Generally this was not something she would be interested in. She liked sports and action movies and reading. Not…operas. But it _was_ an excuse to dress up again and spend time with Jane, so she'd agreed. Their dinner (and dancing) date had been nearly a week ago, and since then they'd barely had a chance to see each other. Yes, part of it was work, but part of it was also Jane insisting that they not jump into things too quickly. So he hadn't come over outside work hours, but they had kept up a steady stream of phone calls and texts when not on FBI time.

It was starting to drive her crazy – they'd known each other for over a decade, seen the worst of each other (and in some cases the best), admitted they were in love with each other for Gods sake - and yet, he had pulled their relationship back to what she could only describe as "the dating phase".

She typically hated "the dating phase", it was awkward and weird and just…no. But with Jane, it was comfortable and fun and…sweet. She was seeing a side of Jane she hadn't even known existed. So she slipped on the expensive green silk floor length dress, checked herself in the mirror and applied a bit of lipstick. The dress was something she splurged on, it hugged all the right places with barely there spaghetti straps criss crossing across a back that dipped dangerously low (for her taste), and had a slit up the side that came to mid thigh.

As she was tossing her keys and cell phone into her purse the doorbell rang and Lisbon gave herself one more glance in the mirror before walking to the front door and opening it.

Expecting Jane, she startled a bit when instead found a tall, older man standing on her porch.

"Yes?" she asked politely all the while wondering how fast she could get to her gun in the locked kitchen drawer.

"Teresa Lisbon?"

Ok, he knew her name. "That's me."

"Hello ma'am, my name is Anthony, Mr. Jane is waiting for you." With that he took several steps back, allowing her to step out a bit to see the black car with tinted windows in her driveway.

_Of course he did._

"Yeah, ok," she said with a small smile and stepped out of the house, locking it behind her.

The driver opened the back door for her and she slid in, none too surprised to see the man himself sitting there wearing a rather smug look on his face - a smug look and a tux. If Lisbon thought he looked good in three piece suits, it was nothing compared to pulse increasing way he looked in a tux.

"Hello, Teresa. You look lovely."

"Thanks," she replied and looked him up and down again. "The tux is a good look for you, a really good look."

He smiled and leaned over, kissing her gently on the lips – it took all her willpower not to intensify the kiss and pull him into her. Instead she settled for kissing him back for a little longer before pulling away.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to have dinner also, I hope you ate?" he asked. They had dinner reservations before the opera but work had run long, they'd barely had time to get home, showered and dressed to get to the opera house in Houston. With the long drive they were cutting it close, hopefully traffic cooperated.

Her eyes looked at him as if _he _was dinner and Jane squirmed a little. "I did, thank you. You?"

"Yes."

Smoothly the driver got on 290 toward their destination and a dozen or so miles passed in silence. Then his hand was suddenly at her bare shoulder, fingers just skimming the skin on top. "Thank you for accompanying me. I know the opera sounds painfully dull, but you might find you enjoy it."

"You're welcome; I'm keeping an open mind."

"You do look…beautiful, Lisbon. Heads will certainly turn." Before she could reply he had slid across the seat, pressing his torso pressed against her side, his lips replacing his fingers on the tops of her shoulder, kissing across the skin slowly. His other hand landed obscenely high on the thigh that was exposed by the slit in the dress. Instantly heat settled low in her belly and Lisbon held back a moan.

"Jane…" she warned in an unsteady voice.

One last kiss was dropped on her shoulder before he pulled away. "Yes?"

She turned her head to look at him; he was wearing that frequently infuriating, but currently smoldering grin on his face.

"Is this why you got a car service?" she asked lightly, trying to chase away some of the heavy, desire laden air that surrounded them.

He grinned wickedly and for a brief moment she debated asking the driver to turn around. "No, I did it in case you drank too much again. Well, and it's a long drive."

"I wasn't drunk."

"You certainly weren't sober."

That was for sure. Jane had been right; at about 5 am with her stomach rolling Lisbon seriously regretted the last martini. Thankfully she hadn't thrown up (but briefly thought it would have been better if she did) and had spent most of Saturday curled up on her couch reading and rehydrating.

"Whatever," she mumbled, annoyed.

Again they lapsed into silence, his hand grasping hers gently, his thumb moving hypnotically over her knuckles.

When they arrived at the Wortham Theater Center, Anthony got out quickly, opening Lisbon's door and holding out a hand.

"Thank you," she said as she took the proffered hand, which made getting out of the car that much easier.

He merely nodded and waited until Jane had stepped out as well before closing the door behind them.

Jane clapped the man on the shoulder. "See you in a couple hours, Anthony."

"Yes, sir. If you need me earlier, just call."

"I certainly will, thank you."

The other man got back into the car and pulled away, leaving them standing directly in front of the theater, which was a modern looking beige building with a large glass arch at the front and circular windows near the top.

It was lovely, and Lisbon caught herself admiring the architecture , at least until Jane's hand landed on her lower back and pressed lightly, urging her to follow the small crowd into the theatre. When his hand had landed on the skin exposed by the back of the dress, a shiver had run up her spine and Lisbon suddenly wasn't all that interested in the opera.

After the first act she was just barely keeping track of what was going on. As far as she could tell the titular woman, Carmen, was a master manipulator, who had her sights on a young solider that she pushed and pulled around for her own…amusement?

Yeah, operas were definitely not her thing and at the intermission she'd been forced to ask Jane to recap what had happened so far. He'd smiled in amusement and gave her a brief overview.

"Are you at least enjoying yourself a little?" he asked and she could see just a touch of worry behind his eyes.

"The singing is wonderful, and the atmosphere is lovely-"

"But the opera isn't your thing?"

"Not really."

"Would you like to go home?" he asked.

"No," she responded firmly. If there was something Lisbon didn't do, that was quit something halfway through, even if that something was an opera performance. And besides, this was a date so she wasn't going to bail, not on Jane. "No, I want to see the rest."

"Ok," he responded and leaned over, kissing her gently. His heart swelled, she really would do anything for him – even sit through an opera she clearly found not…stimulating. For not the first (or last) time, Jane wondered how he had become so lucky to have her in his life.

Just then the lights dimmed and a chime sounded, indicating the second half would start shortly.

After the third act, Lisbon just gave up, she had tried to follow along but always felt like she was a step behind or missing something. So instead she entertained herself with watching him.

Jane was completely enraptured with the action on stage, his eyes constantly darting from performer to performer, taking in every movement, every word. It truly was something to behold.

Reaching out, she covered his hand that was on the armrest between them, lacing her fingers with his. He was so engrossed Lisbon wasn't sure he even noticed.

Once the opera ended (with the solider killing Carmen out of jealousy – that part had her attention), they followed the crowd out of the doors, Anthony was waiting at the pick-up area for them, the back door already open. Jane guided her into the car and slid in behind her, holding her hand once again.

"I'm starving," he said.

"Me too actually," she replied. And she was, the dinner she had managed to scarf down was a couple pieces of toast and a banana, as the fourth act had started her stomach had started quietly grumbling.

Then he grinned and leaned forward, giving instructions to Anthony who nodded and started the car, taking them in the opposite direction of the highway.

Before she could even ask he said, "Eggs. We need eggs."

"Clearly," she said with a barely restrained smirk.

"There's a great diner a couple blocks away."

"We're a little overdressed for a diner don't you think?"

"So?"

She grinned and shook her head; Jane rarely cared what others thought. "Ok then."

It wasn't even ten minutes later and they were walking into a small diner. Given the late hour, there were few patrons, most of whom had only given them a short glance before going back to their own meals.

Their waitress appeared immediately and smiled at their appearance before taking their orders (scrambled eggs for him, omelet for her) and disappearing again.

"Did you enjoy any of it?" Jane asked as his tea and her coffee arrived.

"Yes."

"Which part? When Carmen seduced poor Jose into releasing her only so she could escape or the end he killed her out of rage and jealousy?"

The parallels between Carmen and Jose and Jane's relationship with Lorelei were not lost on Lisbon, but she chose to ignore it, they had moved past that long ago. It had just struck her as odd that this was the opera he chose to take her to – one about a manipulative woman who seduced to get what she wanted, not caring whose lives she destroyed or hearts she broke, caring only about herself and using those around her as she saw fit. And in the end her actions had killed her.

Lisbon shook the thought away and answered, "I enjoyed watching you."

"Well that must have been intensely boring."

"Not at all."

They stared at each other a moment, the tension gathering between them like a storm, the air was heavy again. He reached out and grasped her hand lightly; thumb brushing across her wrist gently, soothingly.

The spell was broken when the waitress returned with their meals.

Quietly they dug into the food; Lisbon had polished off over half of the meat stuffed omelet before another word was spoken.

"Next time we will do something you enjoy," he said and took a bite of perfectly cooked eggs. He'd found this place on their last trip to Houston, while Lisbon was on her "date" with Ardiles he had sulked here.

"Like what?"

While chewing his last bite of egg Lisbon saw something flitter behind his eyes, he had an idea. "I'll think of something."

Lisbon was pretty sure he already had so she didn't bother with suggestions.

The way back to Austin was made in comfortable silence, with Jane holding her hand the entire ride, his fingers alternately stroking her knuckles and wrist.

When they arrived back at her house, he walked her to the door and she smiled almost shyly at him. "Come in? Maybe…stay?"

"Hm…this feels familiar," he said and pushed his fingers through the loose curls of her hair, the strands were like silk against his skin.

"So say yes this time and it won't be."

Suddenly he leaned in and kissed her hard, his hands framing her face, before pulling away and shaking his head. "Not yet."

The look on her face was clearly frustration. "Why not, Jane? Haven't we waited long enough?"

"We have, love, we have. But it's a big change, you and me, and jumping into sleeping together would be a mistake."

"I don't see-"

Then he leaned in, placing his lips against her ear, breath fanning her hair, she shivered involuntarily. "Besides, just think how much better it will be if we wait a little longer."

He heard the hitch in her breath and felt her heartbeat start to race at the words and pulled back.

"I…" she started but was cut off by his lips on hers again.

"Good night Teresa."

"Night," she replied after a moment and he headed towards the car, ensuring she was in the house before getting in.

Grinning, Jane directed Anthony to drop him off at the FBI field office; he had some research to do.

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Hopefully a week for the next one.


	4. The Kings

AN: I fall to your feet and beg for forgiveness for the unacceptably late posting of this chapter. RL really does get in the way, as does my brain which was not happy with this chapter the first 3 times I wrote it (for real), it's finally at a place where I am happy with it, so its all yours!

Happy reading and feel free to leave a review I heart them and they are motivating.

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Chapter 4: The Kings

* * *

"You didn't," she said, trying hard to keep her voice down to a normal decibel level. They _were_ in the middle of the FBI bullpen.

"I did," he replied with a wide grin.

"How did you…I don't…this is…wow..."

"I know. I have to admit I impressed even myself with this one."

"Does Abbott know?" The growing excitement was evident in her voice.

He nodded and she took the pair of tickets from his hand, practically reveling in them.

"You got Stanley Cup playoff tickets."

He nodded, a smile cracking his face at her utter joy.

"In Los Angeles. On Saturday."

"Yes, Lisbon."

He watched amused as she inspected the tickets closer. "These are center ice…behind the bench Jane."

"Oh, are they now?"

She was suddenly skeptical, this _was_ Jane. "And Abbott okayed this?"

"Well, sort of," he hemmed. "_Technically_, we are on call this weekend. But I convinced Abbott to give us enough time off to make a quick trip to LA. Our flight arrives 2 hours before game time and we return on a red-eye."

"And?" she asked, knowing perfectly well this mini-vacation on Abbotts time wasn't going to be free.

"And, we are covering for Harrison next weekend when his team is on call. Something about-"

She cut him off, "Totally worth it."

Then, in the middle of the bull pen for all to see, she hugged him tightly – while nearly squealing with delight.

* * *

Next time she was going to shoot first and ask questions later. That was the singular thought going through Lisbon's mind as she ran through some crappy alley chasing a kidnap suspect. Fischer was with the victim, a 9 year old girl, while she and Cho chased the suspect, an entirely too fit for his own good man in his 50s who was starting to outpace her.

Lisbon wasn't sure exactly where Cho was now, he had been right behind her and then his footfalls were gone, she assumed he had veered off into another alleyway to try and cut off the suspect.

Using the last of her reserves, Libson pushed her legs just a little harder and closed the distance just enough. As they crossed a major road the suspect was forced to slow and that gave her all the advantage she needed, Lisbon tackled him.

Right into traffic.

There wasn't time to tense or move or…anything really before the small SUV hit them, the tires screeching as the driver tried to stop. Lisbon was aware of being weightless for a brief moment as they were lifted onto the hood before being dropped back hard to the asphalt, landing on her side, arm out to try and brace the fall. If the black spots that swam across her vision for a second were anything to go by she'd still managed to hit her head on the road as well.

Despite that her focus remained on the man she was chasing and she looked to her right to see him trying to stand and get away.

_Oh hell no._

With one hand she tripped him up and he landed beside her again, conveniently on his stomach. Adrenaline pumping, she got up and placed a knee in his lower back while putting on cuffs and angrily reciting his Miranda rights.

By then Cho had appeared and took in the scene - Lisbon kneeling on the suspect in front of a stopped SUV whose driver was getting out with a horrified expression on her face – before moving toward them.

"You ok, Lisbon?"

She started to say she was fine but found that she couldn't – not with the pain radiating from her side and wrist. Instead she fell off the suspect, sitting rather indelicately on the hot asphalt.

"I…I'm not sure. Maybe?"

Quickly Cho got out his phone and called for EMS to their location. Then he called Fischer and explained the situation. In less than a minute local LEOs were on scene, securing the suspect until EMS arrived and taking the SUV drivers statement.

By now she was leaning against the bumper of the car, trying really hard to ignore the increasing pain and discomfort in her side. The driver crying hysterically at the officer wasn't helping her headache any and she looked at Cho who wore his typically stoic expression.

But then for just a moment something crossed his face and he leaned into her. "Want me to call Jane?"

It was the one time in a hundred he hadn't come to the bust – something about cut and dried and he would just be in the way. She suspected he didn't want to be here in the event they didn't find the victim alive.

"Um, not yet. Wait until I get checked by EMS. He'll just…be Jane otherwise."

As he nodded in understanding – Jane had a protective streak about Lisbon a mile wide - ambulance sirens rang in the distance.

She was returning from x- ray in the ER when Jane suddenly burst through the doors, radiating manic energy, his eyes skimming the area until they landed on her in the hallway.

"Lisbon…" he breathed out when he saw her sitting in the wheelchair.

"I'm fine, Jane."

That earned her a pointed look from the nurse. Two fractured ribs, a fractured wrist and a possible concussion were probably not remotely close to fine.

"Why did you wait so long to call me?" he admonished as they returned to her room and helped her get back into the uncomfortable trauma bed.

"I didn't want to worry you. I figured by the time you got here we would know the damage done."

"Lisbon..." he started and then sighed – he couldn't fault her logic, even if he didn't like it.

"If it was worse I would have had Cho call you right away."

"Promise?"

She frowned. "Of course. There wasn't anything you could have done, Jane, not at the scene anyway."

He nodded. "And, ah, what is the damage, by the way?"

Quickly she recited what they had already told her. "Plus a couple scrapes and bruises. Oh…and I think my favorite pair of jeans are toast."

"I think the jeans are the least of your worries," he said and looked her over again and Lisbon could see the fear in his eyes. This was his worst nightmare – now that Red John was gone anyway - losing her on the job; getting a call from Cho or Abbott that she was gone.

"Jane," she said softly and reached out, grabbing his hand. "I'm ok."

"I know…it just," he paused and took a deep breath. "…scares me more now."

She understood what he meant. Now that they were in a relationship, losing one another would be far more devastating than it would have been before. Though, if Lisbon was honest, she wasn't sure that was entirely true, even before they were together, she knew they mean far more to each other than their status of "partners" and "friends" seemed to indicate. Lorelei knew it and Red John certainly did when the killer had snatched Lisbon and called Jane to seemingly taunt him about it. Somewhere in the back of his head Jane had known what Red Johns last move would have been. To hurt _her_, because Lisbon was the only person he _truly_ cared about to the bottom of his soul.

"I know…"

Just then the trauma doctor walked in holding her chart. "Agent Lisbon," he started and then paused when he noticed Jane perched on the edge of her bed, holding her hand. "I see you have a visitor...shall I continue?"

"Yes, please."

"Your x-rays confirm what we already suspected. Two fractured ribs and a broken wrist. We see no trauma in the brain but I am not eliminating a minor concussion at this point. I want you to take it easy for a couple days, over the counter Motrin or Tylenol for the pain. If the pain gets severe call me back or your physician, see your regular doctor in about two weeks for follow up on the cast we are going to put on that wrist before you leave."

"What about travel?" she asked. They were leaving for LA the next day.

"What kind of travel?"

"Plane, short trip, there and back in 12 hours."

"Where?"

Jane turned to look at her as soon as she posed the initial question. "Lisbon…no way, you aren't going."

She ignored him and answered the doctor. "LA."

The doctor seemed to consider it a minute. "That should be ok. But again, if the pain gets severe call and someone can get you prescription pain meds. If there is a concussion the pressure might make any headache worse."

"Teresa..." Jane again, this time softer.

The doctor glanced between them before exiting quietly.

"Jane…" she repeated back.

"We aren't going."

"Oh, but we are."

Jane stepped toward her and cupped her face gently. "Teresa, you're in pain and this trip won't exactly be…relaxing."

She grinned. "But it'll be fun. I've dealt with worse. We're going."

He didn't bother with a response, they were going.

* * *

The plane ride out was fine, a little bumpy but she slept through most of it, which was sorta a shame since Jane had sprung for the far-roomier first class seats for them. Not that he minded, if anything Jane was relieved she was getting rest. The night before Lisbon struggled to sleep at all with the ribs and wrist causing constant pain and achiness. But it seemed the large seat, with a pillow stuff against her side seemed to relieve the pressure and allowed her significant relief.

They had made it to the Staples Center also with ease and Lisbon had practically squealed like a teenager when she realized their seats were right behind the Kings bench, three rows up. While there was nothing like a hockey game and beer, because of the pain meds she had been forced to forgo the alcohol and instead was drinking soda and eating a hot dog while the first period whirled around them on the ice.

Jane was lost…for the first time in a long time he had absolutely no clue what was going on; the terms Lisbon kept throwing out were confusing him more than helping (offsides was a concept he simply could not comprehend, though he got the idea of the penalty box).

But she looked so…happy. Though a Blackhawks fan at heart (and proudly wearing the Toews jersey one of her brothers had sent her), she had somewhat adopted the Kings during her time in California. So she cheered when the Kings scored and groaned when the Rangers did.

"You ok?" he asked during a break in the action, intermission he thought. The grimaces when she stood or cheered had not gone unnoticed by him.

Turning a large smile on him she replied, "Great, this is…awesome. Game five, Jane. If the Kings win, they win the Cup."

"How's your ribs?"

She was about to say fine, but the expression on his face told her lying would be useless. "They hurt, but it's bearable. And thanks to my…accident, we have tomorrow off."

He grinned a little bit. "Not sure that's a plus, but I'll take it. You'll tell me if the pain gets too bad?"

"Yes, I promise."

He looked out on the now bare ice. "How much longer?"

She knew he wasn't asking out of boredom but concern for her sitting in a hard plastic seat for an extended period. "Two more twenty minute periods and another twenty minute intermission between. So…an hour and half, at least. And that's if there's no overtime!"

As he nodded the players returned to the benches, the second period was on.

For the next eighty six minutes Jane watched the crowd, which to him was far more entertaining than the game. When the horn that indicated the end of the game blew he looked up at the scoreboard, somewhat dejected that the score was tied. The fans around him, Lisbon included, were screaming with joy at the prospect of more.

They were headed to overtime.

Lisbon looked over at Jane as the final horn blew; he seemed confused a moment before realizing what was going on.

She leaned over to him again. "You want to go?"

"No, not at all." She gave him the look that told him she didn't believe a word he said – the difference was now he would take the time to reassure her. "Really, I'm getting great entertainment out of the people watching."

"We're at a hockey game."

He shrugged. "You have your amusement. I have mine."

"You are the best; you know that, Patrick Jane?"

"So I've been told."

Green eyes narrowed but she leaned over and kissed him again.

When the second overtime started Jane could see that Lisbon had lost a significant amount of the enthusiasm and energy she had at the beginning of the game. Instead of sitting at the edge of the seat, she had slumped back and was leaning against him slightly. Either the adrenaline or pain meds (or both) had left her.

"Hey, you ok?" he asked for not the first time.

"Tired."

"Then let's go. We can still make our flight. This goes on much longer we will be stuck in LA. Not that I'd mind, but we didn't exactly bring a change of clothes." And he waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Let's give it…10 minutes, if its not over, we are out of here."

"Agreed."

Six minutes later LA scored and as much as Lisbon wanted to stay and watch the celebration, she was done. The ache in her side kept thudding dully and her wrist was swiftly turning from annoying to stabbingly painful – even with the Motrin she had taken two hours ago.

* * *

Seven hours later she was tucked into her comfortable bed, another dose of Motrin circulating through her system and Jane perched at the edge of the bed, stroking her hair slowly as she drifted to sleep.

For a brief moment he regretted agreeing to take her, clearly the trip had been physically hard on her. Then again, once Lisbon put her mind to something it was nearly impossible to dissuade her. Besides, she did seem to have a good time and he was beyond pleased to be able to give that to her.

Already having decided he wasn't leaving, Jane looked around and debated his sleeping options – the idea of sliding into bed with her, while rather appealing, seemed wrong somehow without her knowledge. So he could go to the couch, and be an entire floor away, or just lie on the floor next to her.

Well, the floor wouldn't be the worst place he'd ever slept.

As he started to scoot off the bed, her voice stopped him.

"Stay."

"I am," he replied quietly and started to slip off the bed again.

"No," she mumbled sleepily. "In the bed with me."

He opened his mouth to say no, she needed rest but he knew that they both would sleep better together. So he took off his socks and jacket, walked around the bed and slid between the sheets, moving as close to her as he dared.

She made a snuffling noise and shifted to be closer to him, her head nearly under his chin, arms pinned between them.

And that was how he fell asleep, Lisbon curled into him, her body heat lulling him into the most restful night he'd had in nearly a dozen years.

Tbc...

Last chapter coming up next...hopefully faster than this one got out.


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